Here Without You: Wartime Rose
by Juwpiter081
Summary: That rose meant everything to Fang. It meant she would see her love once again, when the time was right. AU, Warfic, FLight


**_Here Without You: Wartime Rose_**

**_Songfic, dedicated to the men and women who serve our country. Thank you all._**

**_Wartime AU. Fang's off to war, and thinks back on what she left behind. FLight._**

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><p>How was it her comrades couldn't respect her one wish?<p>

Everyone in the Army was family, yes, but that didn't mean they could look into her personal bag, did it? Obviously, it did, because a large man, Corporal Villiers, had decided to ransack it. He dumped the contents onto the small fold-up table in the barrack, even to Fang's fierce disapproval. There wasn't much in it, mainly a few letters from stateside. But, the one item that she cared for was the crystallize rose that landed, thankfully safely, on a small stack of letters.

_A hundred days have made me older_

_Since the last time that I saw your pretty face_

She quickly snatched the rose, holding it carefully in her hands, glaring her death beam glare at the larger man, who laughed. "Oh, chill, Sarge." Snow spoke, leaning back. "We all got family back home." His eyes found their way to the rose in Fang's hands. "So, who's the lucky bloke?" A simple question, but a not so simple answer.

_A thousand lies have made me colder_

_And I don't think I can look at this the same_

Fang let her gaze soften, looking down at the pink crystal in her hands. Such ethereal beauty, it matched the one who gave her it. "You should know…" Was how Fang answered. She didn't know why she felt so damn nervous. It was quite normal, her situation. Every soldier in the war was in it. So why'd it affect her so much?

_But all the miles that separate_

_Disappear now when I'm dreaming of your face_

Snow cocked an eyebrow, leaning forward slightly. "I know 'im, huh?" He asked in an unconvinced manner. He ran through all the guys he and Fang knew before deployment. "Gadot?" Snow asked. Fang shook her head. "Hm. Sazh?" Again, wrong. "Hope…?" Snow seemed to be stretching here, and Fang shot him a severe growl with her no. Snow all but gave up.

_I'm here without you baby_

_But you're still on my lonely mind_

_I think about you baby_

_And I dream about you all the time_

Fang's thoughts were on the proper person, the one she loved the most, even more than her kid sister, Vanille. _Lightning_. The pinkette in her life. The same Lightning who was Snow's sister-in-law. She remembered how Lightning opposed the choice Fang had to join the Army. Sure, Farron was a soldier, but she was Guardian Corps. The home front. Fang chose the front lines.

_I'm here without you baby_

_But you're still with me in my dreams_

_And tonight it's only you and me_

Snow studied Fang's expression thoroughly, taking in every movement she made. The small twitch in her lips, the sparkling twinkle in her eyes. The slow, steady breathing. Everything pointed to her thinking about whoever gave her the rose.

_Rose._ Snow mentally slapped himself. "Lightning." He said firmly. Fang tensed instinctively, looking at the man. A small grin formed on his face. "Ah-ha." He said, again gazing at the flower. "So, you shacked up with my sister-in-law…" Fang slapped him, not angrily, but jokingly, as if asking him to shut up. The man only laughed, before walking to his bunk.

_The miles just keep rollin'_

_As the people leave their way to say hello_

Fang collected the letters she had received from the states. Almost every one was from Lightning. Some of them were simply letters, claiming how much she missed Fang. Others were about how their pet cat, Kain, had had grown. When Fang left, the cat was still a kitten, barely a month old. It'd been, what, 6, 7 months? She couldn't remember, only that she missed Lightning every single day.

_I've heard this life is overrated_

_But I hope that it gets better as we go_

Sleep was interrupted when the warning sirens went off. Several insurgent groups had been spotted near the base, and action needed to be taken. Still clutching the rose in her left hand, Fang ran to the armory in her sleeping clothes: A brown/tan T-shirt and a camo short shorts. Grabbing her favorite weapon, the M16, Fang charged to her post, just outside the mess hall.

_I'm here without you baby_

_But you're still on my lonely mind_

_I think about you baby_

_And I dream about you all the time_

She could make out several men, about 20 in all, scattered outside of the kill zone. Though they, at the moment, posed no immediate threat, every precaution had to be taken. Each soldier was armed and at the ready: Snipers were already camped out in the watch towers, ready to defend if necessary. Fang aimed down her gun sight, picking her target out of the crowd.

_I'm here without you baby_

_But you're still with me in my dreams_

_And tonight girl its only you and me_

Suddenly, the insurgents shot out, hitting several men near Fang. "Fire at will!" She heard General Raines shout. Fang didn't think twice. She shot at her target, hitting him right above his nose. She picked her next target carefully, as to avoid any unnecessary shots. She was meticulous, precise. She focused on her next target…

_Everything I know, and anywhere I go_

_It gets hard but it wont take away my love_

A shot rang out, clear as day, but it didn't come from Fang's gun. In fact, it wasn't even from any of her comrade's guns. It was from the enemy, a very powerful rifle, perhaps an AK-47? Either way, Fang heard it. She _felt_ it, if it were possible. She looked at the man who fired it and unleashed 3 shots into his form, each one hitting him; one in his leg, one in his gut, one to the forehead. Perfect kill. Fang moved to the next man on her kill list…

_And when the last one falls_

_When it's all said and done_

_It gets hard but it wont take away my love_

Something warm and wet broke Fang's concentration. She looked down at the place of contact, just above her navel. She went wide eyed at the sight.

A single hole was torn into the shirt she was wearing, a large, red stain, though it looked black on her shirt, surrounded it and went downwards at gravity's will. She saw Snow looking at her, fear in his eyes. Suddenly, dizziness began to take over Fang. Using the last of the energy she had, she gave Snow a cocky smile, then collapsed onto the ground, still clutching the rose crystal. Snow cried Fang's name to no use.

_I'm here without you baby_

_But you're still on my lonely mind_

_I think about you baby_

_And I dream about you all the time_

Lightning Farron sat in her room, laying in bed, reading her novel. Nighttime had fallen over the small town of Oerba, and she was taking tomorrow off. On her nightstand to her left, she had placed a letter to Fang. Next to her, a small grey cat, Kain, slept peacefully. The novel that the soldier was reading was a popular crime/romance drama that Lightning got from Vanille yesterday. It was quite the interesting read.

_I'm here without you baby_

_But you're still with me in my dreams_

The phone rang, quite odd for this time of night. With a small sigh, Lightning answered it.

"Farron." She said, surprised at the tiredness in her voice.

"_Ms. Farron, do you know an Oerba Yun Fang?"_ A male voice asked, gruff and slightly low. Lightning lost all sleep in an instant.

"What happened?" Lightning asked urgently, sitting up directly. Kain stirred.

"_Ma'am, I'm afraid we have bad news…"_ The man asked, now extremely soft. Lightning choked.

_And tonight girl its only you and me_

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><p><strong><em>Semper fi.<em>**


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